Surgical suture material is used in the form of threads provided with needles, i.e. needle/thread combinations, and optionally also in the form of individual threads in pre-cut lengths. Various types of material are available for the threads, such as for example silk, polyamides, polypropylene or interwoven polyester and resorbable materials, in various thread thicknesses and thread lengths. As needles, a number of different straight and bent needles are used, which differ in needle size, needle thickness and type of section.
The package of surgical suture material has to guarantee that the contents remain safe and sterile. Usually, a sterile inner package is enclosed by an outer cover which keeps the inner package sterile until it is torn open and removed during an operation. The inner package, which is designated in the following as "package", should allow the surgical suture material to be removed rapidly and without complication. In particular, the thread to be removed should not become entangled or entwined, and moreover, it is to be ensured that the thread, after its removal, does not have a tendency to resume the shape which it assumed whilst in the package ("thread memory").
There are packages for a needle/thread combination which satisfy these requirements by keeping the thread in an extruded plastic channel. Kinks in the thread which promote the thread memory effect are thus avoided. To remove, the thread is pulled out from the plastic channel.
It is a disadvantage with the previously known package that it is costly as a result of the expensive channel. It also does not follow the trend of avoiding plastic waste.